As at 17 October 2007.

Grayndler - I'm a fan of Anthony Albanese as I have previously documented on this blog, indeed it was one of my entries that led to his photo appearing on the Times Online cricket blog last year. Having said that, it is likely that I will vote for Saeed Khan of the Greens and give Albanese second preference.

There are two reasons for this. One is party loyalty, but the other relates to the electoral funding laws. Any party or candidate who receives at least 4 per cent of the formal primary vote in an electorate is entitled to Government funding. Provided they exceed the 4% threshold, every vote is worth $2.10027 in funding to the party concerned. (More information on the Australian Electoral Commission website.)

So, regardless of all the other policy reasons, I'd rather see the $2.10 paid on my behalf going towards a party that refuses funding from corporate bodies.

To be honest, I'm not going to lose any sleep over whether I vote for the ALP or the Greens in the lower house. Albanese will win, and he deserves to. Nonetheless Khan, who has been a member of Marrickville Council since 2004, would be an able representative in the (unprecedented) event that he gets up.

Senate - Here, I will almost certainly be supporting the Greens ticket headed by Kerry Nettle and David Shoebridge. My preferences will depend on the official Greens line, otherwise I'll probably follow the trail through other progressive parties, on to the ALP, with the Libs, Nats and Family First further down the list.

I consider that third-party presence in the Senate is essential for democracy, and that no party should be in possession of an absolute majority. We only have to look at the gradual dismantling of democratic process since the Howard Government gained control of the Senate in July 2005.

My support for the Greens, ahead of any other minor party, is based on policy, and on Senator Nettle's performance over the past six years. She squeaked in on preferences in 2001, but deserves to be decisively returned this time. She'll find it hard, however, because it appears unlikely that the Greens will receive favourable preferences from many other parties.

I'll expand on policy areas in coming posts.